2005 Volume 12 Issue 2 Pages 87-90
Antipsychotic drugs are sometimes necessary as a adjuvant analgesic for patients with intractable chronic pain. We report 3 cases in which improvements in QOL, previously reduced by pain, were seen following the use of quetiapine fumarate, an atypical antipsychotic. Quetiapine fumarate is a serotonin dopamine antagonist that has both antiserotonin and antidopaminergic actions, and is presumed to improve both positive (delusion, agitation) and negative (apathy, reduced thinking, hypobulia) symptoms. The degree of pain was reduced in only one of the patients; therefore, the direct analgesic effect remains unknown. However, from our results, we consider that the QOL could be improved by the use of quetiapine fumarate through amelioration of such symptoms as nocturnal unrest and low level of motivation to live in patients with intractable chronic pain.
